An expanding volume of patient care activity, spurred by aging demographic patterns, a rising incidence of diseases and disorders, and the extension of health insurance coverage by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, will create a large demand for in vitro (IVD) diagnostic products in the United States.
The sector is predicted to increase 6.1% annually to $24.7 billion in 2016, according to a new study from the The Freedonia Group, Inc.
Advances in technology, along with the introduction of new and improved reagents and instruments, will drive up demand in most IVD product segments.
Demand for clinical chemistry products will be boosted by uses in patient health screening and diabetes self-monitoring in addition to the widening availability of integrated and point-of-care systems offering greater productivity and operating ease.
The expansion of test menus for therapeutic drug monitoring, infectious disease detection, and cancer and cardiovascular testing, along with advances in chemiluminescent and other advanced systems, will promote gains in the U.S. market for immunoassay products, the study concludes.
Companion diagnostics used to determine the safety and effectiveness of drug therapies will provide especially strong growth for immunoassay products.
Demand for molecular diagnostic products will grow the fastest among all IVD products due to their throughput, accuracy, and speed advantages in the detection of infectious diseases, tumors, and genetic disorders. The market for these products will benefit from the introduction of new, high value-added polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and related tests.
Demand for blood testing reagents and instruments will rise 3.4% per year to $2.6 billion. Competition from new immunoassay and molecular tests will moderate growth in demand. However, uses in pre-admission hospital testing, coagulation monitoring, donor matching, and donated blood screening will support gains.
Cellular analysis reagents and instruments will continue to generate sizable demand from uses in ovarian and breast cancer screening and HIV monitoring.
Demand for anatomical pathology reagents and instruments will expand well above the overall average growth pace of IVD products as clinical and forensic laboratories upgrade testing capabilities.
